Children sweeten labours; but they make misfortunes more bitter. They increase the care of life; but they mitigate the remembrance of death. The perpetuity of generation is common to beasts; but memory, merit, and noble works, are proper to men. And surely a man shall see the noblest works and foundations have proceeded from childless men; which have sought to express the images of their minds, where those of their bodies have failed.
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The hardest part of gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche.
The hardest part of gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche.
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin read more
If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
There is an accumulative cruelty in a number of men, though none in particular are ill-natured.
There is an accumulative cruelty in a number of men, though none in particular are ill-natured.
The power of habit and the charm of novelty are the two adverse forces which explain the follies of mankind.
The power of habit and the charm of novelty are the two adverse forces which explain the follies of mankind.
...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very read more
...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very difficult to root out. When summarized in a few neat words or phrases, these gems of wisdom become substitutes for thought, and gradually take on much of the status of revealed truth. Occasionally, some iconoclast sees fit to challenge one of them, and a brief flurry ensues, after which things go on about as before. It is easy to think of plenty of ideas that are passing, if they have not already passed, beyond the stage of effective discussion.
The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, read more
The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, all we have left is our importance.
It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. read more
It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance, and suspicion are the faults of weakness. The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from their sense of inadequacy and impotence. We cannot win the weak by sharing our wealth with them. They feel our generosity as oppression.
Psychoanalysis is the mental illness it purports to cure.
Psychoanalysis is the mental illness it purports to cure.
Our knowledge and our ability to handle our problems progress through the open conflict of ideas, through the tests of read more
Our knowledge and our ability to handle our problems progress through the open conflict of ideas, through the tests of phenomenological adequacy, inner consistency, and practical-moral consequences. Reason may err, but it can be moral. If we must err, let it be on the side of our creativity, our freedom, our betterment.
